84330 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 5, 2023 / Notices 

1More detailed information regarding this 

collection, including more detailed burden 

estimates, can be found in the OMB Supporting 

Statement posted at https://www.federalreserve.gov/ 

apps/reportingforms/home/review. On the page 

displayed at the link, you can find the OMB 

Supporting Statement by referencing the collection 

identifier, FR WW. 1 42 U.S.C. 6294. 

2The following numbers reflect estimates of the 

basic models in the market and test burdens based 

on information collected by the Department of 

Energy or other sources. The actual basic model 

numbers will vary from year to year. 

available for at least five years after the 

initial disclosure date. 

Respondents: The FR WW panel 

comprises covered companies, as 

defined above. Certain requirements 

apply only to covered holding and 

nonbank companies. 

Total estimated number of 

respondents: 21. 

Total estimated change in burden: 

(446). 

Total estimated annual burden hours: 

2,483.1

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, November 29, 2023. 

Michele Taylor Fennell, 

Deputy Associate Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26584 Filed 12–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request; Extension 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(‘‘PRA’’), the Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) is seeking 

public comment on its proposal to 

extend for an additional three years the 

clearance from the Office of 

Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) for 

information collection requirements in 

the Energy Labeling Rule (‘‘Rule’’). That 

clearance expires on February 29, 2024. 

DATES: Comments must be filed by 

February 5, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a 

comment online or on paper, by 

following the instructions in the 

Request for Comment part of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Write ‘‘Energy Labeling Rule, 

PRA Comment, P145403,’’ on your 

comment, and file your comment online 

at https://www.regulations.gov by 

following the instructions on the webbased form. If you prefer to file your 

comment on paper, mail your comment 

to the following address: Federal Trade 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 

CC–5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 

20580. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division 

of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 

Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 

hnewsome@ftc.gov, (202) 326–2889. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title of Collection: Energy Labeling 

Rule (Rule), 16 CFR part 305. 

OMB Control Number: 3084–0069. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change of currently approved collection. 

Affected Public: Private Sector: 

Businesses and other for-profit entities. 

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 

821,651. 

Estimated Annual Labor Costs: 

24,690,012. 

Estimated Annual Non-labor Costs: 

$3,000,000. 

Abstract: The Energy Labeling Rule 

implements the Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act of 1975 (‘‘EPCA’’).1

The Rule establishes testing, reporting, 

recordkeeping, and labeling 

requirements for manufacturers of major 

household products (refrigerators, 

refrigerator-freezers, and freezers; 

dishwashers; clothes washers; water 

heaters; room air conditioners; furnaces; 

central air conditioners; heat pumps; 

pool heaters; fluorescent lamp ballasts; 

lamp products; plumbing fittings; 

plumbing fixtures; ceiling fans; 

consumer specialty lamps; and 

televisions). The requirements relate 

specifically to the disclosure of 

information relating to energy 

consumption and water usage. The 

Rule’s testing and disclosure 

requirements enable consumers 

purchasing products to compare the 

efficiency or energy use of competing 

models. In addition, EPCA and the Rule 

require manufacturers to submit 

relevant data to the Commission 

regarding energy or water usage in 

connection with the products they 

manufacture. The Commission uses this 

data to compile ranges of comparability 

for covered appliances for publication 

in the Federal Register. These 

submissions, along with required 

records for testing data, may also be 

used in enforcement actions involving 

alleged misstatements on labels or in 

advertisements. 

As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) 

of the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A), the 

FTC is providing this opportunity for 

public comment before requesting that 

OMB extend the existing clearance for 

the information collection requirements 

contained in the Rule. 

Burden Estimates 

Estimated annual hours burden: 

821,651. 

The estimated hours burden imposed 

by Section 324 of EPCA and the 

Commission’s Rule include burdens for 

testing (693,320 hours); reporting (2,646 

hours); recordkeeping (807 hours); 

labeling (112,272 hours); retail and 

online catalog disclosures (6,800 hours); 

and online label posting (5,806 hours). 

The total burden for these activities is 

821,651 hours (rounded to the nearest 

hour). 

The following estimates of the time 

needed to comply with the requirements 

of the Rule are based on census data, 

Department of Energy figures and 

estimates, general knowledge of 

manufacturing practices, and industry 

input and figures. Because the 

compliance burden falls almost entirely 

on manufacturers and importers (with a 

de minimis burden for retailers), burden 

estimates are calculated on the basis of 

the number of domestic manufacturers 

and/or the number of units shipped 

domestically in the various product 

categories. 

A. Testing 

Under the Rule, manufacturers of 

covered products must test each basic 

model they produce to determine energy 

usage (or, in the case of plumbing 

fixtures, water consumption). The 

burden imposed by this requirement is 

determined by the number of basic 

models produced, the average number 

of units tested per model, and the time 

required to conduct the applicable test. 

Manufacturers need not subject each 

basic model to testing annually; they 

must retest only if the product design 

changes in such a way as to affect 

energy consumption. The staff estimates 

that the proportion of models tested 

each year ranges roughly between 10% 

and 50% and that the actual percentage 

of basic models tested varies by 

appliance category. In addition, the 

majority of tests conducted are required 

by Department of Energy requirements; 

therefore, it is likely that only a small 

portion of the tests conducted is 

attributable to the Rule’s requirements. 

Accordingly, the burden estimates are 

based on the assumption that 25% of all 

basic models are tested annually due to 

the Rule’s requirements. Thus, the 

estimated testing burden for the various 

categories of products covered by the 

Rule is as follows: 2


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 5, 2023 / Notices 84331 

3This is derived from 25% of 49,676 estimated 

models that are tested. 

Category of manufacturer Number of 

basic models 

Percentage of 

models tested 

(FTC required) 

Avg. number 

of units tested 

per model 

Labor hours 

per unit tested 

Total annual 

testing burden 

hours 

Refrigerators, Refrigerator-freezers, and Freezers ............. 9,703 25 4 4 38,812 

Dishwashers ......................................................................... 1,350 25 4 1 1,350 

Clothes washers .................................................................. 1,364 25 4 2 2,728 

Water heaters ...................................................................... 3,936 25 2 24 47,232 

Room air conditioners .......................................................... 1,844 25 4 8 14,752 

Furnaces .............................................................................. 5,894 25 2 8 23,576 

Central A/C and Heat pumps .............................................. 11,911 25 2 24 142,932 

Pool heaters ......................................................................... 280 25 2 12 1,680 

Fluorescent lamp ballasts .................................................... 494 25 4 3 1,482 

Lamp products ..................................................................... 20,000 25 10 8 400,000 

Plumbing fittings ................................................................... 3,000 25 2 2 3,000 

Plumbing fixtures ................................................................. 45,111 25 1 .0833 939 

Ceiling fans .......................................................................... 9,572 25 3 1 7,179 

Televisions ........................................................................... 3,274 25 2 2 3,274 

Portable air conditioners ...................................................... 548 25 4 8 4,384 

........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ 693,320 

B. Reporting 

The Rule requires that manufacturers 

of covered products ‘‘shall submit 

annually a report for each model in 

current production containing the same 

information that must be submitted to 

the Department of Energy pursuant to 10 

CFR part 429. In lieu of submitting the 

required information to the Commission 

as required by this section, 

manufacturers may submit such 

information to the Department of Energy 

via the CCMS at https://

regulations.doe.gov/ccms as provided 

by 10 CFR 429.12.’’ 16 CFR 305.11. The 

Rule also requires manufacturers to 

furnish links to images of their 

EnergyGuide labels as part of these 

required annual reports. 16 CFR 305.11. 

Manufacturers must submit data to the 

FTC both when they begin 

manufacturing new models and 

annually. 16 CFR 305.11; 42 U.S.C. 

6296(b). 

Reporting burden estimates are based 

on information from industry 

representatives. Manufacturers of some 

products, such as appliances and HVAC 

equipment, indicate that, for them, the 

reporting burden is best measured by 

the estimated time required to report on 

each model manufactured, while others, 

such as makers of fluorescent lamp 

ballasts and lamp products, state that an 

estimated number of annual burden 

hours by manufacturer is a more 

meaningful way to measure. The figures 

below reflect these different 

methodologies as well as the varied 

burden hour estimates provided by 

manufacturers of the different product 

categories that use the latter 

methodology. 

Appliances, HVAC Equipment, Pool 

Heaters, and Televisions 

Staff estimates that the average 

reporting burden for these 

manufacturers is approximately two 

minutes per basic model. Based on this 

estimate, multiplied by a total of 49,676 

basic models of these products, the 

annual reporting burden for the 

appliance, HVAC equipment, and pool 

heater industry is an estimated 1,656 

hours (2 minutes × 49,676 models ÷ 60 

minutes per hour). 

Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts, Lamp 

Products, and Plumbing Products 

The total annual reporting burden for 

manufacturers of fluorescent lamp 

ballasts, lamp products, and plumbing 

fixtures is based on the estimated 

average annual burden for each category 

of manufacturers, multiplied by the 

number of manufacturers in each 

respective category, as shown below: 

Category of manufacturer 

Annual burden 

hours per 

manufacturer 

Number of 

manufacturers 

Total annual 

reporting 

burden hours 

Fluorescent lamp ballasts ............................................................................................................ 6 20 120 

Lamp products ............................................................................................................................. 15 50 750 

Plumbing products ....................................................................................................................... 1 120 120 

The total reporting burden for 

industries covered by the Rule is 2,646 

hours annually (1,656 + 120 + 750 + 

120). 

C. Recordkeeping 

EPCA and the Rule require 

manufacturers to keep the data 

generated from the tests required by the 

Rule. As with reporting, burden is 

calculated by number of models for 

appliances, HVAC equipment, pool 

heaters, and televisions, and by number 

of manufacturers for fluorescent lamp 

ballasts, lamp products, and plumbing 

products. 

Appliances, HVAC Equipment, Pool 

Heaters, and Televisions 

The recordkeeping burden for 

manufacturers of appliances, HVAC 

equipment, pool heaters, and televisions 

varies directly with the number of tests 

performed. Staff estimates total 

recordkeeping burden to be 

approximately 207 hours for these 

manufacturers, based on an estimated 

average of one minute per record stored 

(whether in electronic or paper format), 

multiplied by 12,419 tests 3 performed 

annually (1 × 12,419 ÷ 60 minutes per 

hour). 

Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts, Lamp 

Products, and Plumbing Products 

The total annual recordkeeping 

burden for manufacturers of fluorescent 


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84332 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 5, 2023 / Notices 

4Estimates from trade association members for 

labeling costs ranged from 1 second to 8 seconds. 

Staff has chosen a middle-ground estimate of 4 

seconds, although due to improvements in 

automation, staff believes this estimate likely 

overstates the time spent labeling most covered 

products. 

5 Includes only those product categories, such as 

showroom appliances and heating and cooling 

equipment, that must have separate labels affixed 

to them. 

6These labor cost estimates are derived from the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (‘‘BLS’’) figures in ‘‘Table 

1. National employment and wage data from the 

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 

survey by occupation, May 2022,’’ available at 

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm. 

lamp ballasts, lamp products, and 

plumbing fixtures is based on the 

estimated average annual burden for 

each category of manufacturers (derived 

from industry sources), multiplied by 

the number of manufacturers in each 

respective category, as shown below: 

Category of manufacturer 

Annual burden 

hours per 

manufacturer 

Number of 

manufacturers 

Total annual 

recordkeeping 

burden hours 

Fluorescent lamp ballasts ............................................................................................................ 2 20 40 

Lamp products ............................................................................................................................. 10 50 500 

Plumbing fixtures ......................................................................................................................... 0.5 120 60 

The total recordkeeping burden for 

industries covered by the Rule is 807 

hours annually (207 + 40 + 500 + 60). 

D. Labeling 

EPCA and the Rule require that 

manufacturers of covered products 

provide certain information to 

consumers through labels on covered 

products. The burden imposed by this 

requirement consists of (1) the time 

needed to prepare labels, and (2) the 

time needed to affix required labels. 

EPCA and the Rule specify the 

content, format, and specifications for 

the required labels, so manufacturers 

need only add the energy consumption 

figures derived from testing. In addition, 

most companies use automation to 

generate labels, and the labels do not 

change from year to year. 

Given these considerations, staff 

estimates that the time to prepare labels 

for covered products (all covered 

products except plumbing and 

fluorescent lamp products, which do 

not have separate labels) is no more 

than four minutes per basic model. In 

addition, staff estimates that, on 

average, manufacturers draft or revise 

labels for 25% of the total basic models 

each year. Based on Department of 

Energy data, staff has estimated that 

manufacturers offer approximately 

69,676 basic models of covered 

products. Based on these estimates, staff 

estimates that the approximate annual 

drafting burden involved in labeling 

covered products is 1,161 hours per year 

[69,676 (all basic models) × 25% × four 

minutes (drafting time per basic model) 

÷ 60 (minutes per hour)]. 

Based on input from industry 

representatives and trade associations, 

staff estimates that it takes 

approximately 4 seconds to affix labels 

to products for retail sales.4 Based on an 

average of 4 seconds per unit, the 

annual burden for affixing labels to 

covered products is 111,111 hours [4 

(seconds) × 100,000,000 (the estimated 

number of total products shipped for 

sale annually) divided by 3,600 

(seconds per hour)].5

The total labeling burden for all 

industries covered by the Rule is 

112,272 (1,161 + 111,111) annually. 

E. Online and Retail Sales Catalog 

Disclosures 

The Rule requires that sellers offering 

covered products online or through 

retail sales catalogs (i.e., those 

publications from which a consumer 

can order merchandise) disclose online 

or in the catalog energy or water 

consumption for each covered product. 

Because this information is supplied by 

the product manufacturers, the burden 

on the retailer consists of incorporating 

the information into the online or 

catalog presentation. 

In the past, staff has estimated that 

there are 100 sellers who offer covered 

products through paper retail catalogs. 

While the Rule initially imposed a 

burden on catalog sellers by requiring 

that they draft disclosures and 

incorporate them into the layouts of 

their catalogs, paper catalog sellers now 

have substantial experience with the 

Rule and its requirements. Energy and 

water consumption information has 

obvious relevance to consumers, so 

sellers are likely to disclose much of the 

required information with or without 

the Rule. Accordingly, given the small 

number of catalog sellers, their 

experience with incorporating energy 

and water consumption data into their 

catalogs, and the likelihood that many 

of the required disclosures would be 

made in the ordinary course of business, 

staff believes that any burden the Rule 

imposes on these paper catalog sellers 

would be minimal. 

Staff estimates that there are 

approximately 400 online sellers of 

covered products who are subject to the 

Rule’s catalog disclosure requirements. 

Staff estimates that these online sellers 

each require approximately 17 hours per 

year to incorporate the data into their 

online catalogs. This estimate is based 

on the assumption that entry of the 

required information takes 1 minute per 

covered product and an assumption that 

the average online catalog contains 

approximately 1,000 covered products 

(based on a sampling of websites of 

affected retailers). Given that there is a 

great variety among sellers in the 

volume of products they offer online, it 

is very difficult to estimate such volume 

with precision. In addition, this analysis 

assumes that information for all 1,000 

products is entered into the catalog each 

year. This assumption likely overstates 

the associated burden because the 

number of incremental additions to the 

catalog from year to year is likely to be 

much lower after initial start-up efforts 

have been completed. The total catalog 

disclosure burden for all industries 

covered by the Rule is 6,800 hours (400 

sellers × 17 hours annually). 

F. Online Label Posting 

The Rule require manufacturers to 

post images of their EnergyGuide and 

Lighting Facts labels online. Given 

approximately 69,676 total models 

(excluding plumbing and fluorescent 

lamp products, which do not have these 

labels) at an estimated five minutes per 

model, this requirement entails a 

burden of 5,806 hours. 

Estimated annual cost burden: 

$24,690,012 in labor costs and 

$3,000,000 in other non-labor costs. 

Labor costs: Staff derived labor costs 

by applying estimated mean hourly cost 

figures to the burden hours described 

above. In calculating the cost figures, 

staff assumes that test procedures are 

conducted by engineering technicians at 

an hourly rate of $32.10, and that 

recordkeeping and reporting, and 

labeling and marking, generally are 

performed by data entry personnel at an 

hourly rate of $18.97.6


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 232 / Tuesday, December 5, 2023 / Notices 84333 

Activity Burden hours 

per year Wage category/mean hourly rate Total annual labor cost 

Testing ....................................................................... 693,320 Engineering technicians ($32.10) .............................. $22,255,572 

Reporting ................................................................... 2,646 Data Entry/Information Processing ($18.97) ............. 50,195 

Recordkeeping ........................................................... 807 Data Entry/Information Processing ($18.97) ............. 15,309 

Labeling ..................................................................... 112,272 Data Entry/Information Processing ($18.97) ............. 2,129,800 

Online and Catalog disclosures ................................. 6,800 Data Entry/Information Processing ($18.97) ............. 128,996 

Online Label Posting ................................................. 5,806 Data Entry/Information Processing ($18.97) ............. 110,140 

........................ .................................................................................... 24,690,012 

Capital or Other Non-Estimated nonlabor cost: $3,000,000. 

Manufacturers must incur the cost of 

procuring labels used in compliance 

with the Rule. Based on estimates of 

100,000,000 units shipped annually, at 

an average cost of three cents for each 

label, the total (rounded) labeling cost is 

$3,000,000. 

Request for Comment 

Pursuant to Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 

the PRA, the FTC invites comments on: 

(1) whether the disclosure and 

recordkeeping requirements are 

necessary, including whether the 

information will be practically useful; 

(2) the accuracy of our burden estimates, 

including whether the methodology and 

assumptions used are valid; (3) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the information to be collected; and 

(4) ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information. 

For the FTC to consider a comment, 

we must receive it on or before February 

5, 2024. Your comment, including your 

name and your state, will be placed on 

the public record of this proceeding, 

including the https://

www.regulations.gov website. 

You can file a comment online or on 

paper. Due to heightened security 

screening, postal mail addressed to the 

Commission will be subject to delay. We 

encourage you to submit your comments 

online through the https://

www.regulations.gov website. 

If you file your comment on paper, 

write ‘‘Energy Labeling Rule, PRA 

Comment, P145403,’’ on your comment 

and on the envelope, and mail it to the 

following address: Federal Trade 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 

CC–5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 

20580. If possible, submit your paper 

comment to the Commission by 

overnight service. 

Because your comment will become 

publicly available at https://

www.regulations.gov, you are solely 

responsible for making sure that your 

comment does not include any sensitive 

or confidential information. In 

particular, your comment should not 

include any sensitive personal 

information, such as your or anyone 

else’s Social Security number; date of 

birth; driver’s license number or other 

state identification number, or foreign 

country equivalent; passport number; 

financial account number; or credit or 

debit card number. You are also solely 

responsible for making sure that your 

comment does not include any sensitive 

health information, such as medical 

records or other individually 

identifiable health information. In 

addition, your comment should not 

include any ‘‘trade secret or any 

commercial or financial information 

which . . . is privileged or 

confidential’’—as provided by Section 

6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 

FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)— 

including, in particular, competitively 

sensitive information, such as costs, 

sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 

patterns, devices, manufacturing 

processes, or customer names. 

Comments containing material for 

which confidential treatment is 

requested must (1) be filed in paper 

form, (2) be clearly labeled 

‘‘Confidential,’’ and (3) comply with 

FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, the 

written request for confidential 

treatment that accompanies the 

comment must include the factual and 

legal basis for the request, and must 

identify the specific portions of the 

comment to be withheld from the public 

record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your 

comment will be kept confidential only 

if the General Counsel grants your 

request in accordance with the law and 

the public interest. Once your comment 

has been posted publicly at 

www.regulations.gov, we cannot redact 

or remove your comment unless you 

submit a confidentiality request that 

meets the requirements for such 

treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and 

the General Counsel grants that request. 

The FTC Act and other laws that the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives on or 

before February 5, 2024. For information 

on the Commission’s privacy policy, 

including routine uses permitted by the 

Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/ 

site-information/privacy-policy. 

Josephine Liu, 

Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26602 Filed 12–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

Notice of Closed Meeting 

Pursuant to section 5 U.S.C. 1009(d), 

notice is hereby given of the following 

meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended, and the Determination of 

the Director, Office of Strategic Business 

Initiatives, Office of the Chief Operating 

Officer, CDC, pursuant to Public Law 

92–463. The grant applications and the 

discussions could disclose confidential 

trade secrets or commercial property 

such as patentable material, and 

personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: Disease, 

Disability, and Injury Prevention and 

Control Special Emphasis Panel (SEP)– 

RFA–PS–24–063 Minority HIV Research 

Initiative (MARI): Epidemiologic, 

Behavioral, and Implementation Science 

Research in Racial/Ethnic Minority 

Communities Disproportionately 

Affected by HIV and Build Research 

Capacity Among Historically 

Underrepresented Researchers. 

Date: February 22–23, 2024. 

Time: 10 a.m.–5 p.m., EST. 

Place: Videoconference. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Seraphine A. Pitt Barnes, Ph.D., MPH, 


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